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Qwaqwa student Jabulani Mabuza – a master of his time

11 August 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo SUPPLIED

At a time when it is becoming fashionable for high-tech smartwatches and fitness gadgets to adorn your wrist, there will always be room for a classic timepiece. Wristwatches in particular tell a different story to people of all social classes, and for Qwaqwa student Jabulani Mabuza, the process of making different watches to suit different tastes is what excites him the most.

Mabuza is in his final year of a BCom General Management degree. In January 2020, he acted on his curiosity about the process of assembling a watch, and subsequently registered his watch business, Honour Watches, in January 2021.

Since then, he has steadily honed his craft, learning more about the art of watches. He recently made it through to the central regional rounds of the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) competition in the Existing Businesses category for studentpreneurs.

On the pursuit of mastering the art of watchmaking

Horology is the study and measurement of time. It is the process of allowing yourself the time and patience required to master the art of building a watch from scratch, and Mabuza said he enjoyed the intricacies of the watchmaking process. “What I enjoy about horology is learning the deeper technicalities of the art, the whole process – from understanding basic astronomy and how planets move in our solar system, to sort of emulating that in a watch mechanism. The working of metals transformed into watch components that actually tell time, is what I enjoy most and what I am investing in so that I can master it one day,” he said.

As a BCom student, he said his studies have largely influenced his business journey, as it helps him understand the structure of his business professionally. “It assists me with the business administration and management of Honour, and the rest is inspired by my creativity and passion for what time means to human beings.”

Mabuza said South Africa does not have a watchmaking plant as yet, so all the components for his watches are currently imported from Japan and Switzerland. He hopes to one day have his own production plant that will produce watches from scratch, in order to teach more people this skill and to create jobs, for which there is always a need. Currently, he studies the watch components to learn which movement best complements which type of hand and casing, in order to assemble them according to the designs he likes.

“I enjoy the pursuit of creating a mechanical auto-magnetic watch for international travellers that will automatically adjust to different time zones as they travel. These horological pursuits are what I enjoy the most, believe in, and am passionate about.”

The regional rounds will be held on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus from 19 to 23 September 2022.

News Archive

Ensure your place at the UFS

2010-10-27

The University of the Free State (UFS) appeals to all prospective South African students who want to come and study at the UFS in 2011 to submit their applications no later than Tuesday, 30 November 2010.

The UFS is aware of the fact that learners will not have received their final Grade 12 results by Tuesday, 30 November 2010; therefore provisional admission will be granted based on learners’ most recent Grade 12 results. Final admission will take place upon receipt of the final Grade 12 results, which will be available early in January 2011.

Prospective students can obtain application forms for admission at the following places:

The UFS’s web site at www.ufs.ac.za,
The Information Office (Unit for Prospective Students) at the Thakaneng Bridge on the UFS’s Main Campus in Bloemfontein,
You may also send an e-mail to info@ufs.ac.za or
Phone 051 401 3000 and the necessary forms will be posted to you.

Senior undergraduate students (that is all students who were registered up to and during 2010 at the UFS) as well as post-graduate students, must self-register electronically on-line from Monday, 1 November 2010 until Tuesday, 4 January 2011. This includes master’s and doctoral students.

In order to encourage senior students to register online, the UFS offers 20 laptops as incentives for the senior students who successfully register online from 1 November 2010. These laptops will be handed over to the winners after the registration process in 2011.

Registration of first-year students:

The Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, will welcome first-year students on Friday, 14 January and Saturday, 15 January 2011, respectively, in the Callie Human Centre. The Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, the Humanities and Education will be welcomed on 14 January 2011 and the students of the Faculties of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Law and Theology shall be welcomed on 15 January 2011. The compulsory orientation programme for new first-years will also then commence.

From 17 to 21 January 2011 first-year students will receive academic advice at the Callie Human Centre, whereafter they will be referred for self-registration. These processes will take place according to the set timetable. This timetable is available in the Kovsie Guide that will be sent to learners as soon as we have received their applications, as well as on the web site of the UFS at www.ufs.ac.za/register2011.

First-year students’ fees must be paid prior to arrival on 14 and 15 January 2011.

Registration of senior students:

Senior students who experience problems with the electronic on-line self-registration process have the opportunity to resolve problems within a programme on campus from Wednesday, 5 January until Wednesday, 12 January 2011. This programme will be sent out to students and is also available at www.ufs.ac.za/register2011. The specific scheduled day for senior students to resolve problems is the last and only day to resolve the problem.

Senior students can also contact 051 401 9111 for more information in this regard.

Students may register for prescribed modules for 2011, even though the November 2010 examination results are not yet available. Changes resulting from examination results that are made available later can be done up to and including 28 January 2011.

In terms of applications for senior students, only students who have interrupted a calendar year of study need to re-apply for admission.

Registration of students at the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus:

Senior and first-year students of the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus register from Wednesday, 12 January until Friday, 28 January 2011 in the Nelson Mandela Hall on this campus.

Registration of students at the UFS South Campus:

First-year students from the UFS’s South Campus in the University Preparation Programme and the Extended Programme (only Natural and Agricultural Sciences) register from Monday, 24 January till Friday, 28 January 2011 in the Arena Hall on the South Campus.

Students who have successfully completed the University Preparation Programme register with the first-year students on the UFS Main Campus on Friday, 14 and Saturday, 15 January 2011 – according to faculties (cf. paragraph 6).

Lectures for all students shall commence on Monday, 24 January 2011.

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
26 October 2010

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